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On Rammus, and the importance of Sunfire Cloaks

Rammus isn't a great farmer. By the time you've earned the cash for this, your opportunity to sit in a lane and farm is over. You're better off getting other things. A guardian angel, for example, is a much better investment. If you have a couple physical DPS champions on the opposing team (yi is a favorite to play against), you're better off with a thornmail. Hearts of gold were meant for rammus. Chalice+boots+hearts until you're full isn't a bad way to go. Once you've pillaged those hearts of gold for a while, start moving on to bigger and better things, like a guardian angel, and aegis, or even an atma's.

I find the bonus to farming is the main reason to get the first cape. You then have a choice depending on the game.
-If your team lacks dps, you can stack them, alternating with other items like Guardian Angel or Force of Nature. You can do a lot of damage just by hanging out near someone. Taunt/Ball and your Ult help this, and can do a lot of damage in a team fight.
-If your team needs stronger tanking, you should buy tankier items instead, and just rely on your team to kill things. Use your ult to tag everyone in a team fight so you get the assist gold.

Hearts of Gold are cheap but dont provide nearly the same gold benefit. If I've had a rough early game, Its an option instead of a cloak. But if I've scored a kill with a taunt/tower or a few assists with a good lane partner, I feel sunfires are a great option. They are the only "end game" item that provides HP and Armor, and make rammus more dangerous so you can draw a little more focus.

One thing to consider is due to the fact that HoG arent end game items, you will often end up selling them. Thus, the time to repayment is actually 18 minutes. Or, if you consider that the tank stats are stuff you want anyways, you are gaining money on the recipie after 7 minutes.

I wouldn't buy more than Heart of Gold as I don't see the games lasting that long or are probably decided by 32 min.

Actually, farming creep waves with his Ult is pretty good. It has a 60 second cooldown so you should have it again very soon.

You're forgetting that you get money back from selling the hearts of gold (487g) so the time fore them to pay all the gold back is 16 minutes. After that its pure profit., and you get to have the stats while you're earning money. Really, its one of the best things you can do for your early game.

Personally i go Stone, heart, heart then boots, and usually have all of them finished well before the laning phase is over.

Right now lategame is decided on teamfights. If you know how to tank, you are the one being attacked in teamfights. making rammus beefier is important, BUT a good enemy team will try and attack rammus last, unless it seems like a "sure thing" that they will kill rammus without risking themselves. 2 sunfire cloaks gives you 64 DPS to all enemy champions. So, if you already have survivability, and they really really would rather kill other heroes than you, given the choice, constantly doing 64 damage to all enemy heroes while they try and position themselves at your teammates is a BIG deal.

Imagine if a teamfight lasts 12 seconds, and on average you position yourself to be in range of 3 heroes for sunfire.

12 X 64 X 3 = 2304 damage total done by you without having to target anything, completely seperate from your abilities/autoattack. 768 damage done to 3 different enemies during a teamfight.

that is a lot of damage, considering sunfirecape gives you survivability, and doesnt require that you give up much armor/hp to get the fire effect.

So to sum it up, if you know how to play a tank well, positioning etc, sunfirecape rewards you with INSANELY high bonus DPS that you dont even have to work to deal.

Right now lategame is decided on teamfights. If you know how to tank, you are the one being attacked in teamfights. making rammus beefier is important, BUT a good enemy team will try and attack rammus last, unless it seems like a "sure thing" that they will kill rammus without risking themselves. 2 sunfire cloaks gives you 64 DPS to all enemy champions. So, if you already have survivability, and they really really would rather kill other heroes than you, given the choice, constantly doing 64 damage to all enemy heroes while they try and position themselves at your teammates is a BIG deal.

Imagine if a teamfight lasts 12 seconds, and on average you position yourself to be in range of 3 heroes for sunfire.

12 X 64 X 3 = 2304 damage total done by you without having to target anything, completely seperate from your abilities/autoattack. 768 damage done to 3 different enemies during a teamfight.

that is a lot of damage, considering sunfirecape gives you survivability, and doesnt require that you give up much armor/hp to get the fire effect.

So to sum it up, if you know how to play a tank well, positioning etc, sunfirecape rewards you with INSANELY high bonus DPS that you dont even have to work to deal.

I dont think that anyone is saying that the dps isnt nice, its just that for the cost you can get several other items that offer different benefits (aegis for group armor/dmg, or getting autores for yourself etc etc)